Physics

From the forces that keep athletes twirling and sliding, to the weird laws governing the world of the very small, to the far-out concepts of time travel and alternate universes, physics covers a lot of interesting territory. Here, Live Science keeps you abreast of all the fascinating physics discoveries.Physics

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A Hubble Telescope image of the galaxy cluster Cl0024+1654, showing red pinpricks of stars on a blue field of dark matter

There may have been a second Big Bang, new research suggests

By Paul Sutter last updated

Within a month of the Big Bang, a second cosmic explosion may have given the universe its invisible dark matter, new research suggests.

purple, pink and magneta elliptical image of cosmic microwave background

The universe might be shaped like a doughnut, not like a pancake, new research suggests

By Paul Sutter last updated

The universe may be flat, but could still be shaped like a doughnut, weird patterns in leftover light from the Big Bang suggest.

An artist's impression of the atom being launched between the two pairs of optical tweezers.

Scientists use optical tweezers to play world's smallest game of catch with individual atoms

By Ben Turner published

Scientists who have thrown a single atom from one pair of optical tweezers to another say that the feat could be used to build better quantum computers.

An illustration showing neutron stars merging into a black hole, as electromagnetic waves ripple outward

Physicists want to use gravitational waves to 'see' the beginning of time

By Andrey Feldman published

Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of space. Waves that originated in the early universe could carry important information about the phenomena that occurred there.

A still of Georges Lemaître smiling and talking and sitting in front of a bookshelf from the rediscovered video.

Only filmed interview with Georges Lemaître, 'father of the Big Bang,' rediscovered after 60 years

By Harry Baker published

The only known filmed interview with physicist and Catholic priest Georges Lemaître, who originally proposed the Big Bang theory, has been found on a video that was lost nearly 60 years ago.

Does reality exist when we're not looking?

Does reality exist when we're not looking?

By Paul Sutter published

In quantum physics, particles exist in many states at once until you measure them. Can reality really work that way?

The NIF's laser target positioners take aim.

8 times physics blew our minds in 2022

By Ben Turner published

Nuclear fusion, lab-simulated wormholes, and ramming distant asteroids, here are the biggest and best physics stories of the year.

Microscopy images showing the path of a fracture and crystal structure deformation in a cobalt, chromium and nickel alloy during stress testing at -424 degrees F.

'Mind-boggling' alloy is Earth's toughest material, even at extreme temperatures

By Robert Lea published

A metallic alloy of chromium, cobalt, and nickel is over 100 times tougher than graphene and gets even more resistant to damage at extremely low temperatures.

The NIF's laser target positioners take aim.

Nuclear fusion reactor 'breakthrough' is significant, but light-years away from being useful

By Ben Turner published

Useful, cost-effective nuclear fusion remains a distant dream, despite a small step in the right direction from the government's NIF reactor.

The National Ignition Facility's fusion reactor uses 192 laser beams to focus laser light into a hot-spot the diameter of a human hair.

Nuclear fusion reactor core produces more energy than it consumes in world-first demonstration

By Ben Turner published

The breakthrough marks the first time that the core of a fusion reactor has given out more energy than it has taken in, but significant obstacles still need to be overcome.

Photo of Nobel Prize winner John F. Clauser, Oct. 4, 2022

Nobody took John F. Clauser's quantum experiments seriously. 50 years later, he's collecting a Nobel Prize.

By Jonas Enander published

John F. Clauser reflects on receiving the 2022 Nobel Prize in physics for the groundbreaking work he did 50 years ago.

'Quantum time flip' makes light move simultaneously forward and backward in time

By Ben Turner published

The time-flipped photon can't be used to restage "Back to the Future," but it could help us figure out some of the universe's most mysterious phenomena.

A close-up photo of Big Ben in London.

Pesky 'leap second' will be abolished by 2035

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

An international group of experts has voted to retire the leap second by 2035.

Image of the gamma-ray burst from the Swift observatory, showing a bright center surrounded by bands of orange circles.

Gamma-ray burst may represent the most powerful cosmic explosion ever recorded

By Robert Lea published

Astronomers stunned by 'brightest of all time' gamma-ray burst reckon it could be the most powerful space explosion since the Big Bang

An illustration of gravitational waves.

Nobel Prize in Physics: 1901-Present

By Live Science Staff published

Here's a look at all winners of the Nobel Prize in physics, including Steven Chu, Aage Niels Bohr and Enrico Fermi.

The Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Hans Ellegren announcing the winners.

Quantum 'spooky action at a distance' lands scientists Nobel prize in physics

By Ben Turner last updated

Their work has set the foundations for today’s fledgling quantum computers.

Plastic is hit with a green laser.

Scientists blasted plastic with lasers and turned it into tiny diamonds and a new type of water

By Robert Lea published

Shock-compressing PET plastics can create tiny nanodiamonds with a range of technological applications.

A Russian soldier guarding a checkpoint at the Zaporizhzhia plant.

Giant nuclear power plant in Ukraine is at risk of 'unlimited release' of nuclear materials unless a safety zone is established, UN warns

By Ben Turner last updated

The plant has been occupied by Russian forces since March 4.

Protons, made of three quarks, colliding

Weird quantum experiment shows protons have more 'charm' than we thought

By Stephanie Pappas published

Protons can contain a charm quark, an elementary particle 1.5 times heavier than the proton itself.

Scientists blast atoms with Fibonacci laser to make an 'extra' dimension of time

By Ben Turner last updated

The new phase was made by firing lasers at 10 ytterbium ions inside a quantum computer.